1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a golf putter head, more specifically to a putter head made entirely of pottery clay with a glazed exterior surface and an unglazed striking face.
2. Prior Art
The most important features of a golf putter are its appearance, feel, and function. The aesthetic appearance of a golf club putter is one of the most important features in the consumer's acceptance of a golf club. Many conventional golf putters are polished or painted to provide a reflective surface. In normal use these surfaces tend to wear or patina over a period of time. The present invention is superior in that the surface is permanent and remains aesthetically pleasing.
The prior art known to the applicant comprises the following U.S. patents which relate to the present invention. These include U.S. Pat. No. 2,908,502 to Bradstreet who uses ceramic composites to coat the surface of a metal golf club. U.S. Pat. No. 3,975,023 to Inamori, U.S. Pat. No. 4,181,306 to Jepson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,102 to Fukayma, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,328,661 to Helmstetter are directed to golf club heads that have a ceramic composite or polyurethane face insert. U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,826 to Nishigaki is directed to a golf club head with a plurality of ceramic plates and layers of glass fibers or carbon fibers laminated alternately, allowing for a change of hardness and roughness of the ball-striking surface. U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,616 to Fernandez is directed to the use of a foam core surrounded by a rigid shell including resin impregnated fibers and ceramic particles dispersed in the resin. U.S. Pat. No. 5,340,107 to Baker is directed to a dry pressed silicon nitride composite monolithic ceramic putter whose main focus is on the weighting system and the method of manufacturing using bi-axial symmetric pressure to form the unique shape of the golf club. The finishing is completed with sandblasting and diamond lapping to polish the surface.